Young Divas need to shine too!

Caring for your natural hair may include your favorite products, treatments, vitamins and trimming but you must not forget your nighttime routine. Placing your beautiful tresses in a silk scarf or satin bonnet is a ritual for most of us but for many especially children this can be challenging. Waking up to your scarf on the floor and your hair in an unplanned mohawk is never cute.  The company Silky Wraps hopes to be your solution.  I had the opportunity to chose a product from their beautiful line to try and review, so I selected a Girls sleep bonnet.  My daughter is too old for this particular bonnet so I solicited my friend Precious and her beautiful six year old daughter  Autumn to give it a try. After a week of trying the bonnet, I asked Precious a few questions about their experience....

Mslawanda... Do you normally have your daughter sleep in a bonnet?
   Precious... I normally do not put bonnets on my daughters' hair, I use scarves for her hair.
Mslawanda... What if any difficulties have you had with bedtime sleep scarves or bonnets?
   Precious...They would normally slide or fall off her head & mess up her hairstyle or cause frizzy hair.
Mslawanda... Would you recommend this bonnet? Why or why not?
   Precious... I would recommend this mainly because of the satin inside and the tie ribbon to keep it secure on my daughter's head. This is a very good feature that allows you to adjust the comfort level. I also enjoy the colors and designs.
Mslawanda... Any other comments, questions or suggestions?

   Precious... The 1st night i didnt tie the bonnet tight enough and it fell off during the night so I had to play with the ribbon to find the right comfort level for my daughter. It can get tight so be careful. Tying the ribbon to the side is also good to avoid it being in her face. Autumn loves the bonnet,  it stays on her head and she even wants to wear it in the shower!

I want to support the young divas in our lives so I reached out to one of my fellow bloggers, The Sistah Chick, of Our Natural kids and together we will offer you a chance to win a fabulous prize! There will be two winners. One will win a brand new Silky Wrap bonnet & the other a full size 3 piece Curly Q set (cleansing cream, moisturizer & gel). Use the rafflecopter below to enter! Don't forget to check out Silky Wraps's website www.silkwraps.storenvy.com for other bonnets and wraps  and Our Natural kids at www.ournaturalkids.ning.com  for info to help all the young divas in your life!



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Yum Yum - CoCo Curls

I had the pleasure of meeting the owner/creator of CoCo Curls, Jeannell at the Spring Fro Fashion week and I truly felt her passion for her product.  I was excited to try her Moisturizing styling cream but hoped I wouldn't be disappointed.  My hair really loves butters & creams so I was looking for something to set this product apart from the others. Jeannell recommended the product be applied to wet hair, so that's what I did.

I decided to co-wash my hair and use a leave-in conditioner before applying the CoCo Curls cream.  Using about a dime size amount of the product, on each section, I  put my wet hair in three strand twists. I let my hair dry overnight with a silk scarf wrapped around it and a satin bonnet on top.  In the morning i put the cream on my finger tips and un-twisted them.

My hair was shiny, the curls were well defined & wow the smell was just plain - YUMMY!  I loved the way my curls looked & felt.  These results weren't surprising for me, so I needed more.  The test would come at Days 3&4 of my twist out.  Would my curls stay defined? Would I retain moisture? This would be the way for CoCo Curls to move to the top of my list.  Day 2 was a repeat of the original (great), Day 3 I separated more and rocked bigger hair & then Day 4.... my hair was beautiful! I didn't leave my curls in the spirals they had formed from the original twist out I created a soft fro and CoCo Curls was there for the ride. I was truly impressed. I spritzed my hair with a little aloe vera spritzer and rubbed the moisturizing styler on my hands rubbing it through my hair. This cream did not fail.

Next up, trying CoCo Curls on my daughter's (Tia) hair.  Tia has always had very straight hair so getting her hair to be define can be challenging. She tends to also have a lot of frizz so I will be watching for this also.  Tia loved the coffee blend fragrance as I applied it to her previously washed, deep conditioned and leave-in coated hair. I decided to put her hair in flat twists, some going to the side with the majority going to the back. I weighed down the twists using flexi-rods on the ends (like BlackOnyx) and let them dry overnight.  I also applied the CoCo Curls to my fingertips to un-twist them in the morning and she loved it.

I really love this cream and was impressed that it produced great results on each day that I wore the twist out. The most surprising for me was the definition and shine my daughter achieved without frizz.  I will give the CoCo Curls Moisturizing Styling Cream a 9 out of 10 and think you should give it a try! Make sure to support her by checking out her website www.cococurls.com and following on twitter @CoCo_Curls

Have you tried CoCo Curls? What do you think of the results Tia & I achieved?

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

10- Day Juice Challenge - Let the fun begin

It is time to kick start this weight-loss journey! My detox at the beginning of the year was great and I was feeling good and losing weight but after a week of calorie counting, a week of the flu and then Fro fashion week I have fallen in a hole. Well its time to jolt my body into shape with a 10 day Juice & Raw diet! Ive read a few blogs and articles describing the benefits of juicing and I think this is the perfect solution for me. The 10 days will consist of drinking fresh vegetable & fruit juices, at least 3 glasses per day, all the raw fruit & vegetables you like, minimum 32 ounces of water and a multi-vitamin daily. I will be taking the other supplements I normally consume as well (calcium, potassium & flax-seed) but you take whatever your doctor recommends. Remember I'm not a doctor, just a plus-size lady trying to get on track!

Vegetables & fruit tend to be a little pricey so I decided to save money by purchasing a very economical juicer.  I purchased the Black & Decker Fruit & Vegetable Juice Extractor for $29.99 from Walmart.  It got some great reviews on Walmart's site as well as on Amazon so what could I lose?  The next step is finding some juice recipes that I can stomach. I found a great site called www.myjuicecleanse.com it has lots of advice, you can keep a journey and ask questions.  I will share this journey on twitter and facebook so please join in. We can help each other so lets get started! I will begin Sunday morning February 12th and the first juice I will try is:

Delightful Green Juice

1 apple
1/2 cucumber
1/4 green cabbage
handful spinach

Wash fruits and vegetables.  Cut to the size that will fit in your juicer.  Push the raw foods  through juicer machine.  Add ice and enjoy.  Makes approx 12 oz juice.

**from myjuicecleanse.com**

Make sure you join their email list to get more free juice recipes!

Are you joining me? Are you on twitter?  Do you have a favorite juice recipe?

 Please leave a comment & share!

Product Junkie's Paradise...Spring Fro Fashion Review Continues....

I attended Fro Fashion Week as a Lead Press Supporter V.I.P. and I felt like a movie star! I arrived in my traveling clothes without make-up but Tarin Boone knew who I was, ME???? She's such a great organizer. I was given my all access tote, button and welcome to the event...but that's not it...I was given a Golden Ticket to the V.I.P. gifting suite! I told you I felt like a movie star!

V.I.P. status also afforded me access to an exclusive reception for the Penthouse Party but more importantly a chance to meet with representatives from the great brands that attended the event.  It wasnt just a hand shake but a chance to truly meet, network and discuss things that my readers are looking for and hoping to discover. I spoke with Brands that I was familiar with like Jessicurl, Shea Moisture & Curls; brands that I rediscovered like Design Essential (Natural line) & Organic Root Stimulator new line Curls Unleashed; and new brands like CoCo Curls, Mozeke & Beautiful Textures.

I was amazed at the amount of great products that I left the event with and the truly amazing company owners & representatives that I met. Fro Fashion Week is one of the best events I have attended for networking with an intimate appeal.  Small businesses have a truly remarkable opportunity to go straight to the consumer, bloggers get to build relationships with companies by putting a face to the review and larger companies get a chance to revamp themselves with a direct and immediate impact.

It is a must attend event! Below are some pictures of the Brands & Owners I had the pleasure of meeting. Check them out & support them!

Gift from Curls Unleashed..love it!

BRIJOR- Fashion Jewelry

Brittany owner of BRIJOR

The beautiful ladies of:  Natural ADDICTees - "Rep the Real"
Owner: Ashley
www.naturaladdictees.com

Jeannell & The CoCo Curls Crew

Mozeke the owner of the company of the same name

 Great seeing Jessica of Jessicurl again!

Kynx with the great tropical theme

What a great idea! Can't wait to try the VBar!


***Giveaway Info tomorrow***
Have you tried these brands?  Please leave a comment! 

Curlfriends Unite...Fro Fashion Week Bloggers, Brands & Brunch

The brunch was one of  the highlights of the weekend for me. The setting was beautifully decorated, Afrobella was the keynote speaker and Design Essential sponsored it allowing for an elegant event. The room was full of beautiful women who loved natural hair and I couldn't wait to network and put a face to "curlfriends" I spoke with on Twitter, watched on YouTube or enjoyed their work on their blogs.

As the excitement grew to attend this year's Spring event, four of my fellow bloggers and I planned to meet at this brunch.  From left to right, they are @CurlyAnd Lovely, @TribeCalledCurl, @CurlRehab, @mslawanda & @UneAutreNaturel ... we looked for each other tweeting our locations, mishaps & fun.  It felt like visiting with old friends.

This year I also had the pleasure of being a member of the Lead Press Support group of bloggers.  Divas like @TheSistahChick & @bossygirl1980 were curlfriends with the same honor that I corresponded with on Twitter and looked forward to meeting.

We received great advice from Afrobella, we took pictures with beautiful comedian actress Kim Coles and stylist Felicia Leatherwood, while being privy to exclusive information from Design Essentials.

Great brands like Jessicurl, Shea Moisture & CoCo Curls were also at the brunch to mingle and share advice.

This was my second time attending this brunch and it wont be my last. Tarin Boone, creator of  Fro Fashion Week, continues to show that she has passion for natural hair and supporting small business. Her drive for growth and excellence is contagious, it makes you push yourself to discover the greatness we all can contribute.

How important is networking for you? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!


**Fro Fashion Week Experience will continue tomorrow!**

Mslawanda ....."So Fly" at Fro Fashion???

When you think of Fro Fashion Week you cant forget the 'fashion". I don't wear pumps, wedges or red bottoms...I normally shop at Walmart but I had to step up my game before I made my way to Atlanta, GA for the Spring 2012 event.  I decided to try my hand at fashion by choosing to find a few statement pieces and coasting through the rest LOL! I was very nervous and hoped that the very fashionable women with their beautiful Natural hair would appreciate my effort and to my surprise many did...YAY!

The first item that intrigued me were the designs by a Toronto, Ontario artist who created the Afrodelik line. Her designs have been seen on celebrities like Sherri Shepherd and the Godmother of Blogging Afrobella so I had to reach out. Desiree was such a great person to work with, I am plus size so my design had to be altered but she made sure it was perfect and arrived in time for my  Fro Fashion debut. The cut of the shirt allowed me to feel a little sexy but not self conscience. I loved it!

After having my main piece selected, it was time to add some important accessories. I was ready to  reach out to Alexandra better known as @AisforAlex to get one of her hand-crafted bracelets to provide arm candy to this ensemble. I sent her a photo of my Afrodelik design and she created  beaded bracelets that added the perfect substance and shimmer for this  freshman fashionista.  Alex creativity is amazing and its shown by the way her creations are sold out as soon as they are placed on her  online site www.shop-als.com. 

My final stop was a very important one, I needed to adorn my ears with big beautiful earrings and I knew the perfect place to go...Ruby ReddCheeksBoutique on facebook.  Ruby has great vintage clothing, jewelry and accessories that will make people ask questions. I wanted to have something to compliment my other pieces and with Ruby being a stylist as well she found the perfect match. These flower infused hoops were the rage of Fro Fashion. Beautiful women continually stopped me to ask where did I get these earrings.

My Penthouse party attire was a simple black top with black pants but Rachel Stewart's Earrings were enough to get my photo taken and my business card asked for.  My "Fly" earring were gold & bold and I love them! Her style was recognized throughout the Fro Fashion event with people asking about them by name. "Are those Rachel Stewart earrings?".....Check her out on twitter @RStewartJewelry and http://rachelstewart.bigcartel.com 

Another find from Ruby Redd Cheek Boutique concluded my jewelry for the Fro Fashion Week Penthouse party and this beauty even got attention from the hostesses herself Ms. Kim Coles. I didn't dance much but I shimmered and shined all over the 25th floor suite.

I didn't want to ignore my favorite piece of technology and Sharlata Marlin came to the rescue. She created a one of a kind IPod case that had vendors &  curl friends  asking to hold it, wanting to buy it and hoping I  leave it. Ms Martin makes cases to fit all your favorite toys and will make sure your style shines through. Her etsy page will be live soon but you can get your own jewel by emailing her for more information. ecinom4u@gmail.com

Well that's enough about me...Time to share the fun of Fro Fashion Week...Check back tomorrow when I share the amazing Blogger & Brands Luncheon.. Don't miss it!

Please support these great businesses! If you see something you like check them out! 

How did I do my first time around as a fashionista? What tips can you share?

Please leave a comment!

Fro Fashion Week......The place to be!

Fro Fashion week Spring 2012 edition did not disappoint! I am amazed each time I attend at the way the creator, Tarin Boone, out does herself with each season.  The downtown Atlanta Melia hotel is the setting for this upscale, intimate and informing event and offers beautiful guest suites, a great room view and access to all the events in one space. My friend Precious & I arrived Friday evening after an adventurous 3 1/2 hour car ride, ordered some room service and prepared to hit the show with excitement and energy.

This year I have the pleasure and honor of being a Lead Press Supporter and..... WOW the perks of this job are amazing. I networked with some amazing companies, bloggers and natural hair beauties. I want to share my full experience with you guys so I am dedicating this week of blog posts to do just that!

I will share....... my personal adventures and attire for the event, the fabulous Bloggers ,Brands & Brunch luncheon with Afrobella as the keynote speaker, the entertaining and educational workshops with celebrated stylist Felicia Leatherwood & stylists from Design Essentials, the great small businesses from the Runway Shopping arena, my VIP experience, the Penthouse Party hosted by the one and only Kim Coles and finally how Fro Fashion's runway show went global...Whew I may need more than a week....

Check back everyday day this week to see why you must attend this event and how i intend to share the wealth with some great product reviews, contest & giveaways !



Did you attend Fro Fashion week Spring 2012? Leave a comment & let me know your thoughts!